IN a tantalising contest, East Gambier prevailed against West Gambier in the first semi final of Western Border netball down at Island Park on Saturday.
It was a tough encounter, a defensive stoush, with both teams focused on applying relentless pressure without ball in hand.
In the end just one goal separated the two sides, with the Bulldogs now headed for a preliminary final against the loser of the Millicent versus North Gambier match.
In the opening quarter it was the West defensive duo of Maddy Teakle and Amy Cram that took the early honours.
With the help of Jess Bell and Maggie Kipping, the Roos made the Bulldogs work overtime to get the ball in good shooting position.
At the offensive end there was good flow for the Roos forwards, allowing Lisa McGregor to find some good ball, netting nine from 12 as West set up a three-goal quarter-time lead.
The accuracy of Sarah Lock and Tenille Gray in the opening quarter was what kept East close as the Roos looked the more settled and focussed of the two line-ups.
Whatever was said at quarter time worked for East and the Bulldogs came out firing.
The defensive partnership of Bo Creek and Morgan Amy was back to its tight-checking best, contesting every ball and Tyne Bosko made life tougher for Carlee Davey.
Gray also broke free and by working higher up the court seemed to find her way more easily into the circle, where she converting 10 of her 11 attempts.
But the Roos were far from done and the defensive effort again ramped up as Teakle and Cram shut down the space in the East shooting circle, which forced the Bulldogs into a number of feeding errors.
Again only the accuracy of Lock and Gray – missing only one goal for the quarter – that kept the Bulldogs one goal clear going into the last term.
In the final quarter the pressure again ramped up, with both teams desperate not only to create turnover ball, but also to convert it to scoreboard pressure.
Teakle and Cram continued to force errors from the normally sure hands of the Bulldogs forward line.
However, the move of Tarsh McCallum to wing attack and Sara Smith to centre did have some effect, as McCallum worked the angles well with her pace and smarts.
The West defenders’ work over the shot was causing missed opportunities for the Bulldogs and Cram and Teakle were able to collect most of the rebounding opportunities.
At the other end, the Roos were methodical in attack, with Jess Bell, Davey and McGregor showing great patience until Tahlia Earl opened up at the post or McGregor could find the ball in range.
Amy and Creek put in a huge effort and eventually their unwillingness to give up easy ball, along with some touches from Bosko, saw interceptions opportunities arise and they pounced.
In the end it was the timer which ended West’s challenge just as they were looking to again equalise and the Roos’ season was over.
Teakle was outstanding for the Roos, while McGregor was a shining light.
Kipping put in a selfless performance to deny the Bulldogs feeders easy ball and Jess Bell was as reliable as ever.
East was best served by Creek and Amy, who after quarter time, were unrelenting in their willingness to contest, while Gray was cool in a crisis and McCallum led superbly.
